Introducing Africa and its history; Africa before the agricultural age, 16,000-9000 BCE; culture and technology in Africa, 9000-3500 BCE; diverging paths of history - Africa 3500-1000 BCE; an age of commerce, an age of iron - Africa 1000 BCE-300 CE; southern, central and eastern Africa - the middle centuries 300-1450; northeastern, west and north Africa - the middle centuries 300-1450; the early Atlantic age, 1450-1640; Africa in the era of the Atlantic slave trade 1640-1800.
The text would certainly be the anchor text for an introductory
class in African history, or for the segment on Africa in a world
history class. ... The introduction to the text is exciting,
progressive and engaging. ... The whole narrative is presented in
an exceedingly readable way. -
*Adria La Violette, University of Virginia*
This clear and comprehensive interpretation of Africa will be the
volume from which the early history of Africa will be re-written in
all college and high school texts on world history. -
*Patrick Manning, Northeastern University*
The Civilizations of Africa stands as a fascinating witness to the
role that historical linguistics can play in integrated
reconstructions of the African past. ...The book's discussions of
social and culture processes during that era are sophisticated and
thought-provoking. Ehret explicitly addresses a set of assumptions
widely held among (at least North American) undergraduates: that
African societies were culturally underdeveloped before European
contact, that Africans have historically been the recipients of
innovations originating outside the continent and that Europeans
dominated interactions with Africans from the time of first contact
onward. The dynamism of African societies both before and after
that contact is well represented. The extensive use of linguistic
evidence also allows unusually thorough coverage of some regions
where historical and archaeological data are more rare, including
parts of the Congo Basin and south-western Africa. ...The book is
well written and comprehensive, and abundantly illustrates the
richness and complexity of African societies over many thousands of
years. It will make a fine introductory text for courses in African
history... -
*JOURNAL OF AFRICAN HISTORY*
...anyone wanting a chronological overview and synopsis of the
historical development of subsistence practices, technologies, and
sociopolitical formations could do much worse than start here.
Ehret's attempts to integrate different kinds of data drawn as
often from linguistics and archaeology as from history, is also to
be applauded. ...The text is readable, informative and the layout
is attractive. ...On all these terms, then this book is a welcome
addition to the field...a worthy and welcome effort... -
*ANTHROPOS*
The Civilizations of Africa is a substantial, comprehensive and
accessibly written introductory textbook.
*ANTIQUITY*
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